Rafting-pin



(No Model.)

' J. TREAT. r

RAFTING PIN. N0. 328,260. Patented 0013. 13, 1885.

I 0 w. t I I jjfiizzew 5.5L irazzfaxi1 I M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEQJOHN TREAT, OF ENFIELD, MAINE.

RAFTING-PIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 328,260, dated October13, 1885.

' Application filed May 10, 1884. Serial No. 131,071. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN TREAT, a citizen of the United States, residingat Enfield, in the county of Penobscot and State of Maine, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Rafting-Pins; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

Figure 1 is a front View of my improved rafting-pin A. Fig. 2 is a topView showing the rounded corners c c. Fig. 3 is a side view showing afragment of the small connectingline b and also of the stay-line or warpB behind the pin. Fig. 4 is a cross-section of a log, G, with the pin Adriven into the log and with the connecting-line b and the stay-line orwarp B in their relative positions.

Same letters show corresponding parts in the different figures.

A is the pin; B, the large stay-line or warp; G, the log incross-section. b is the small connecting-line. c c are the corners ofthe pin rounded. dis the vertically-projecting top of the pin. 6 is theslot in the pin.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved rafting-pin, which,while performing all the functions of the rafting-pins now in use, willprevent the wearing and destruction (by friction on the pins) of thelong heavy stay-lines or warps used in rafting logs.

After logs have been cut in the forests they are floated down the smallstreams to the rivers and are stopped and collected in booms atconvenient stations. As the whole cut on the lands upon any given streamis driven to the booms at the same time,it is evident that when theyarrive at the booms the logs of all the persons who have conductedlumbering operations above will be thoroughly mixed to gether. The logsare then allowed to pass singly through the booms, and beingdistinguished by the private marks of their respective owners areseparated accordingly, and the logs of each proprietor are securedtogether in rafts of convenient size, each raft containing from fifty toone hundred logs. The logs composing each raft are secured together bysmall connectinglines by means of the various rafting-pins in use, whichare preferably of wood, in wedge shape, slotted at the thin end forabout half the length of the pin.

In making a raft the logs are laid evenly side by side. At each end ofeach log and at equal or nearly equal distances from the middle, anax-cut is made in the direction of the length of the log. Theconnectingline is then placed at right angles across the cut. Theslotted pin is placed in position so that the connecting-line may bereceived in the slot, and the thin end of the wedge may enter the axcut,and the pin is then driven into the cut, whereby the connecting-line ismade fast to the log. The large end of the wedge-shaped pin is of courseleft projecting above the surface of the log. This operation is repeateduntil as many logs are connected as may be conveniently moved or handledtogether and the raft is complete.

As many millions of logs are out each season, and as two pins arecommonly required for each log, the immense number of pins annuallyrequired and consumed can easily be imagined. For the purpose ofsecuring these rafts to the shore or of uniting several of them ormoving several of them together,large staylines or warps are placedacross the surface of the rafts by the side of and in contact with theprojecting ends of the pins,to which as well as to the connecting-linesthey are secured by hitches at a sufficient number of points, the endsof the stay-lines or warps being secured as the occasion requires. Thesestay-lines or warps being frequently used to connect large numbers ofrafts are necessarily of great length, and being often or commonlysubjected to the great strain and resistance of the heavy rafts must beand are both large and strong. From their length and size they are veryexpensive and form a large item in the cost of rafting and handlinglogs.

My invention consists of an improved rafting-pin designed as animprovement upon those now in use, particularly that of Thos. B.Raymond, patented October 23, 1866, and numbered 59,072. In Raymond spin, as in others which are sawed out, the lateral corners or edges ofthat part of the pin which projects above the log after the pin has beendriven lto place are left angular and sharp as they result is that thechafing and friction and con- 20 )me from the saw, with the result thatthe sequent wear upon the stay-lines or warps are ;ay-lines or warpsused for fastening and conthereby reduced to the minimum, and a greatecting the rafts and staying them to the shore saving of expense isthereby effected.

."e constantly worn and chafed by the fric- WVhat I claim as myinvention, and desire on of the sharp corners of the pins, and to the tosecure by Letters Patent, is- 25 rdinary friction caused by the strainand re- A rafting-pin made in wedge form having a stance of the heavyrafts must be added that slot extending up from its thin flat end forretused by the undulating motion imparted to ceiving and grasping theconnecting-line I) re rafts by waves. and having the lateral corners oredges 0 c of The object of my invention is to save the the part of thepin projecting above the log 0 ear of the staylines or warps caused bythe when the pin has been driven into place iaiing and friction, asbefore described. I rounded, whereby the stay-lines or warpsconicomplish this object by rounding the lateral necting or staying theraft are preserved from W lges or corners of the pins which projectwear, substantially as herein set forth.

)ove the log after the pin has been driven JOHN TREAT. to place,withwhich corners the stay-lines or WVitnesses: arps are or may be broughtincontact when H. D. LYMAN,

use for the purpose above described. The JOHN B. B. FIsKE.

